#ted-chiang — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #ted-chiang, aggregated by home.social.
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"Will A.I. Become the New McKinsey?
As it’s currently imagined, the technology promises to concentrate wealth and disempower workers. Is an alternative possible?
By Ted Chiang
When we talk about artificial intelligence, we rely on metaphor, as we always do when dealing with something new and unfamiliar. Metaphors are, by their nature, imperfect, but we still need to choose them carefully, because bad ones can lead us astray. For example, it’s become very common to compare powerful A.I.s to genies in fairy tales. The metaphor is meant to highlight the difficulty of making powerful entities obey your commands; the computer scientist Stuart Russell has cited the parable of King Midas, who demanded that everything he touched turn into gold, to illustrate the dangers of an A.I. doing what you tell it to do instead of what you want it to do. There are multiple problems with this metaphor, but one of them is that it derives the wrong lessons from the tale to which it refers. The point of the Midas parable is that greed will destroy you, and that the pursuit of wealth will cost you everything that is truly important. If your reading of the parable is that, when you are granted a wish by the gods, you should phrase your wish very, very carefully, then you have missed the point.
So, I would like to propose another metaphor for the risks of artificial intelligence. I suggest that we think about A.I. as a management-consulting firm, along the lines of McKinsey & Company. Firms like McKinsey are hired for a wide variety of reasons, and A.I. systems are used for many reasons, too. But the similarities between McKinsey—a consulting firm that works with ninety per cent of the Fortune 100—and A.I. are also clear. Social-media companies use machine learning to keep users glued to their feeds. In a similar way, Purdue Pharma used McKinsey to figure out how to 'turbocharge' sales of OxyContin during the opioid epidemic. Just as A.I. promises to offer managers a cheap replacement for human workers, so McKinsey and similar firms helped normalize the practice of mass layoffs as a way of increasing stock prices and executive compensation, contributing to the destruction of the middle class in America.
A former McKinsey employee has described the company as 'capital’s willing executioners': if you want something done but don’t want to get your hands dirty, McKinsey will do it for you. That escape from accountability is one of the most valuable services that management consultancies provide. Bosses have certain goals, but don’t want to be blamed for doing what’s necessary to achieve those goals; by hiring consultants, management can say that they were just following independent, expert advice. Even in its current rudimentary form, A.I. has become a way for a company to evade responsibility by saying that it’s just doing what 'the algorithm' says, even though it was the company that commissioned the algorithm in the first place.
The question we should be asking is: as A.I. becomes more powerful and flexible, is there any way to keep it from being another version of McKinsey?"
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Uitgelezen: ' Wat er van ons wordt verwacht - verhalen' door Ted Chiang
English title: 'Exhalation - stories' .
The Dutch version of the book has the title of the story 'What's Expected of Us'
(@ellecordova's SciFi book club)
#books #SciFi #ScienceFiction #stories
#TedChiang #Exhalation -
"La tarea en que más éxito ha tenido la #IA generativa es reducir nuestras expectativas, tanto de lo que leemos como de nosotros mismos cuando escribimos algo para ser leído. Es una #tecnología fundamentalmente deshumanizante, porque nos trata como menos de lo que somos: seres capaces de crear y aprehender significados. Reduce la cantidad de intención en el mundo."
—TED CHIANG
#citas #TedChiang #InteligenciaArtificial -
Durante la 25esima edizione del Trieste Science+Fiction Festival, l’Inaf ha deciso di premiare Chiang con l’Event Horizon Award 2025, riconoscendo la sua straordinaria capacità di trasformare concetti scientifici complessi in narrazioni capaci di emozionare e far riflettere.
https://www.media.inaf.it/2025/10/31/trieste-sciencefiction-festival-ted-chiang-arrival/
#inaf #trieste #scienceandfictionfestival #eventhorizonaward #tedchiang #fantascienza #letteratura #libri #scienza #storiedellatuavita #storiadellatuavita #arrival
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Dopo aver letto qualche anno fa "Storie della tua vita", sto leggendo ora "Respiro". #TedChiang è uno scrittore meraviglioso, con una non comune capacità di immaginare e raccontare storie, che utilizza la #fantascienza come i grandi, da #Asimov a #Lem (passando per #Dick): non un circo di astronavi, alieni e tecnologia futuristica più o meno verosimile, ma come allegoria per affrontare temi profondi, umanissimi e comuni della vita di ciascuno. Consigliatissimo.
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Read it a couple of years ago in the anthology « Stories of Your Life and Others », with many other gems of Ted Chiang
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stories_of_Your_Life_and_Others
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*“It’s like imagining that a printer could actually feel pain because it can print bumper stickers with the words ‘Baby don’t hurt me’ on them. It doesn’t matter if the next version of the printer can print out those stickers faster, or if it can format the text in bold red capital letters instead of small black ones. Those are indicators that you have a more capable printer but not indicators that it is any closer to actually feeling anything.”*
*#TedChiang on #LLM*
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Det var en meget skuffende “AI”-revolution
Her et par år inde i, hvad der er blevet opreklameret som den kunstige intelligens’ æra, kan vi nøgternt se i øjnene, at vi har lagt såvel søgeresultater som administrativt, intellektuelt og kreativt arbejde i hænderne på glorificerede men dybt fejlbehæftede stavekontroller.
Forfatteren Ted Chiang ser f eks ingen parallel til science fiction-genrens billeder af kunstig intelligens i det algoritmiske juks, vi får trukket ned over ørerne PT, men vælger at kalde det anvendt statistik. Det er dybest set Clippy v2, som står på spring for at foreslå at vi kommer en tube trælim i pizzasovsen, eller (ovre på det fhv Twitter) erklære sig selv en Mecha-Hitler.
For det er jo ikke alene varm luft, der driver værket, det er også grundlæggende fascistiske verdenssyn og æstetikker der spyttes ud af generative “AI”-modeller (jeg er i skrivende stund ikke parat til at slippe gåseøjnene omkring betegnelsen, der nok vil fortsætte med at være et hult postulat i mange år endnu). Og den opvarmede luft kommer ikke bare fra Microsoft, Google og OpenAI’s marketingsafdelinger, men i lige så høj grad fra de massive datacentre, hvis energiforbrug allerede er ved at æde de CO2-nedskæringer, der iflg Paris-konventionen er det absolutte minimum for at bevare en beboelig planet.
Der er altså ikke rigtig en forsvarlig brug af såkaldt “kunstige intelligens”, men det betyder ikke at den ikke bliver forsøgt brugt vidt og bredt, for nøj, hvor folk elsker en nem genvej til facit, selv når co-piloten styrer som den har kappet alle trosser til virkeligheden.
Så kom “AI”-teknologien for at tage vores jobs? Kun i det omfang, arbejdskøbere mener at de kan tolerere et markant kvalitetsfald i virksomheden. Men — og her når jeg endelig humlen af indlægget — tog den livet af Superkulturs T-shirtproduktion? Ja. Ja, det gjorde den.
Superkultur skulle jo fungere som en isoleret oase fra internettets store platforme, hvor alt lukker sig omkring den samme hjemmeside, med nogle få åbninger ud i RSS og det nogenlunde acceptable fødivers. Vores sidste(?) afhængighed af eksterne tjenester var tysk registrerede Spreadshirt, hvor vi gennem flere år har lagt egne tryk op til salg på T-shirts, kaffekopper og andet fjollet merch. Der var en del sparkedragter til babyer som gik usolgt hen!
18 august sendte Spreadshirt en mail ud til alle sine brugere, om en forestående justering af priser, samt et nyt “AI”-designværktøj, der giver kunder “mulighed for nemt at tilpasse markedspladsdesigns via prompts. Hvis dit design bliver redigeret i vores designer ved hjælp af AI-funktionen, får du naturligvis stadig den normale betaling for dit oprindelige design“.
Jo tak, du. Det er jo en ringe trøst, hvis kunder har bedt værktøjet om at smide en håndfuld hagekors oven i vores tryk. Som allerede nævnt er der en meget kort afstand fra almindelig clueless brug af “AI” til fascistiske budskaber, som får antallet af Youtube-anbefalinger før man sidder og kigger på en halshugning til at blegne. Selvsagt fór jeg til tastaturet for at spørge om, hvordan vi i Superkultur kan fravælge at medvirke i denne nyskabelse. Svaret er, at dette ikke kan lade sig gøre. Mit gensvar, som Spreadshirt PT ikke har svaret på, er:
Så har vi desværre et ophavsmæssigt problem, hvor Spreadshirt vælger at gøre vore designs tilgængelige i sammenhænge, vi ikke har givet eller kan give samtykke til, fordi vi ikke har kontrol over konteksten hvori vores originale motiver indgår.
Det her må I finde en løsning på, FØR I beslutter at implementere en buzzword-løsning som “AI”.I al retfærdighed skriver Spreadshirt også i den oprindelige opdateringsmail, at man meget gerne må kontakte dem med indvendinger mod de nye regler og funktioner. Dette skal isf ske til en separat emailadresse fra deres support. For en sikkerheds skyld sendte jeg følgende besked på engelsk, men har heller ikke her fået svar endnu:
In response to your decision to make all sellers’ designs subject to “AI” alterations or customisations:
YOU MAY NOT INCLUDE SUPERKULTUR’S DESIGNS IN “AI” OFFERINGS.
Our designs are original IP and only made available in the understanding that they not be altered from the state and context in which they are offered, and on the products we have selected from Spreadshirt’s range.
We will not tolerate that our original designs be used in any way, shape or form as training material for “generative AI”, or in any way repurposed from the intended context by your “AI” tools.
For our longstanding position on the subject, we refer you to the product description for our Spreadshirt design “Butlersk Djihad“
Please respond at your earliest convenience that you have understood and will comply with these terms.
De er dog tydelige med, at indsigelse = opsigelse: “Hvis du gør indsigelse mod de nye kontraktbestemmelser inden for fristen, vil de eksisterende bestemmelser generelt fortsat gælde. Bemærk dog, at da vi ønsker at behandle alle vores partnere ensartet, forbeholder vi os derfor ret til at opsige kontraktforholdet med dig i overensstemmelse med bestemmelserne i Partnerbetingelserne“.
Så vi må gå ud fra, det var det for vores lille og langt fra profitable nebengesjæft med dybt indforståede T-shirtbudskaber for det superkulturelle folk. Men vi er langt fra de eneste med bekymringen overfor Spreadshirts maskinbegejstring. “AI”-kritikeren David Gerard har skrevet et overblik over situationen på Pivot to AI, med henvisning til et skønsomt udpluk af vrede reaktioner rundt om på nettet.
Det kan nærmest ikke betale sig at flytte vores designs over til en anden print-on-demand-udbyder, for senkapitalismen og Cory Doctorows mundrette enshittification-begreb dikterer ligesom at alle kommercielle platforme befinder sig et eller andet sted på skråplanet ned i “AI”-dyndet. Jeg skal i de nærmeste dage omdanne siden Supercouture & grej til et mindesgalleri over den merchandise som nu må leve et efterliv som ikkun JPEGs og lasede loppefund.
Som vi formulerede det i et ca fem år gammelt tryk:
#AI_ #DavidGerard #denDummesteFremtid #enshittification #grej #spreadshirt #tShirts #TakForLort #TedChiang
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🤔🚀 Ah, another intellectual fanboy deep dive where the author proves they've read Ted Chiang's stories more than Ted himself—and still manages to miss the "secret third thing." 📚🔍 Instead of unlocking any cosmic secrets, we get a tedious over-analysis that's as enlightening as a broken lightbulb. 🌟💡
https://linch.substack.com/p/ted-chiang-review #intellectualfanboy #overanalysis #TedChiang #cosmicsecrets #brokenlightbulb #HackerNews #ngated -
> When you’re a student at a university, you should think of yourself as an athlete in training, and the job you'll do after you graduate is the sport you will compete in.
> What your professors do know is that strength training will help you. That’s what essay writing is; it’s strength training for the brain.
> Using ChatGPT to write your essays is like bringing a forklift into the weight room; you are never going to improve your cognitive fitness that way.
https://cdh.princeton.edu/blog/2025/08/12/ted-chiang/
#TedChiang -
10 Sci-Fi Books That Could Be The Next “Arrival”
Dear Hollywood, I've got your next sci-fi features. Just make me an executive producer, please.
https://www.themarysue.com/10-sci-fi-books-that-could-be-the-next-arrival/ -
#ArtificialGeneralIntelligence
In my view,
a) the #AGI ship has already sailed,
b) most reaserchers are focusing way too much on the base-tech, IT part, while
c) the chief focus should be on #Embodyment and...
https://mastodon.social/@HistoPol/111192991778156238
d)...The Social Science of
Caregiving," and draws further inspiration from the CASBS project "Imagining Adaptive Societies." (...#AlisonGopnik & #TedChiang) -
@wackJackle @larsweisbrod Letztens LesenswertQuartett-Sendung gesehen, wo alle voll Probleme mit #TedChiang-Kurzgeschichten hatten, außer Fanboi #DenisScheck.
Es gilt immer noch der #SamuelR Delany-Aufsatz »Einige überhebliche Arten sich der SF zu nähern« (1984; Dt. Alaska 233, 1998; HR-Telekolleg/Fischer-TB 2007). Unis und Mainstream-Literaturbetrieb sind voller Leuz, die keine SF lesen oder verstehen, weil ihnen die entsprechende Bildung fehlt (ab 42:16). Großes Kino.
https://youtu.be/bTmhAADxQPM -
@elih An AI model isn’t an artist; it’s a tool.
“Some have claimed that large language models are not laundering the texts they’re trained on but, rather, learning from them, in the same way that human writers learn from the books they’ve read. But a large language model is not a writer; it’s not even a user of language. Language is, by definition, a system of communication, and it requires an intention to communicate.”
#TedChiang for the @NewYorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/why-ai-isnt-going-to-make-art -
I am trying to read more books in 2025. For years, I have accumulated reading material, but I rarely make time to actually read it.
Just finished ‘Exhalation’ by Ted Chiang. I really like the well crafted ideas in familiar contexts as well as in finite microcosms.
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I recently read some stories from Ted Chiang's book Exhalation. I thought these were interesting. I then learned that a story of his had been made into a movie called Arrival. So, I rented this movie from the library.
And, uh, it was very American. Lotsa mood music as the reasonable Americans sought to learn about the aliens (who, of course, had spaceships that each looked like a football), while the Russians and Chinese sought to wage war on the aliens. Anyhow, the Americans in the end saved the day.
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How to tame AI: More regulations, or maybe a boycott?
Have the risks of artificial intelligence risen to the point where more regulation is needed? Cognitive scientist Gary Marcus argues that the federal government — or maybe even international agencies — will need to step in.The Food and Drug Administration or the Federal Av
https://cosmiclog.com/2024/11/27/how-to-tame-ai-more-regulations-or-maybe-a-boycott/
#GeekWire #ArtificialIntelligence #Books #GaryMarcus #Technology #TedChiang -
@TheSpaceshipper good film. The novel it comes from it's even better.
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I am making up in timely for what I've lacked in consistency: new blog post. It explains what Wired said today but with 40 years of perspective. Lots of cool stuff today. Enjoy:
https://www.allandyenshapiro.com/
#NobelPrize
#nobel2024
#NobelPrizeForChemistry
#WritersOfMastodon
#AuthorsOfMastodon
#Writers
#Writing
#WritingCommunity
#AmWriting
#AmWritingScienceFiction
#DatatScience
#TedChiang -
…
Ted Chiang also wrote:
"Whenever anyone accuses anyone else of being a Luddite, it’s worth asking, […] is the person making the accusation actually in favor of improving people’s lives? Or are they just trying to increase the private accumulation of capital?"https://www.newyorker.com/science/annals-of-artificial-intelligence/will-ai-become-the-new-mckinsey
#progress #capitalism #governance #economy #AITech #ethicalAI #aiEthics #generativeAI #AI #TedChiang #accountability #McKinsey #techv #Cloud
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Freue mich als Übersetzer von #TedChiang, dass er nicht zu den Schwachmaten gehört, die den ganzen KI/AI-Betrug auch noch schönreden.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/why-ai-isnt-going-to-make-art -
Ted Chiang, one of my favourite living authors wrote an essay in the New Yorker about why LLMs (and AI models in general) will never be able to create art. As usual he hits the nail squarely in the head. If you have a few minutes, it is worth your time.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/why-ai-isnt-going-to-make-art
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Denise Thé, Melissa Scrivner Love & Amanda Segel Ink Sony Pictures TV Deal, Set Projects With Ted Chiang & Gus Van Sant, Ben Winters
#News #AmandaSegel #BenWinters #DeniseThé #GusVanSant #MelissaScrivnerLove #SonyPicturesTV #TedChiang
